". . . the American continents . . . are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers."--JAMES MONROE, 1823

1

A STORY, probably fictitious but certainly in character, is told of two patriotic Americans who met on the streets of an unnamed town. "What's this
I hear about you," demanded one, "that you say you do not believe in the
Monroe Doctrine?" The reply was instant and indignant:

"It's a lie. I never said I did not believe in the Monroe Doctrine. I do believe in it. It is the palladium of our liberties. I would die for the Monroe
Doctrine. All I said was that I do not know what it means."

The Man in the Street certainly cannot step forward with a clear-cut
definition of the Monroe Doctrine. He cannot define an elephant either, but
he can recognize one when he sees it, which is more to the point. And even
if he cannot define the Monroe Doctrine satisfactorily, he can recognize a
situation seriously threatening its basic principles, which also is more to the
point.

In the simplest possible terms the Monroe Doctrine means: " America for
the Americans." Or, " Europe (and Asia), hands off the Americas." Other
powers must not secure any more territory on these continents, because if
they do they might use it as a base from which to jeopardize our security,
and the security nerve is our most sensitive.

The Monroe Doctrine is now so venerable, and it has commanded so
much worshipful respect, that its adulators have formed a kind of cult, as
often happens with things but dimly understood. At times the Doctrine has
seemed to be not a political issue but an emotional or ethical impulse. John
Hay, one of our more flashy secretaries of state, proclaimed in a public address: "The briefest expression of our rule of conduct is, perhaps, the Monroe Doctrine and the Golden Rule. With this simple chart we can hardly
go far wrong."

Other spokesmen have openly bracketed the ancient altarpiece of the
Monroe Doctrine with things spiritual. The founder of Christian Science,
Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, once remarked: "I believe strictly in the Monroe
Doctrine, in our Constitution, and in the laws of God." One of her disciples, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, published a large advertisement in the New
York Times in 1923, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of
the Doctrine, proclaiming that the sacrosanct shibboleth was "as binding
upon America as our God-inspired constitution." An English writer once
concluded: "To the Americans, the Monroe Doctrine is like God or religion

Notes for this page

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.comPublication information:
Book title: The Man in the Street:The Impact of American Public Opinion on Foreign Policy.
Contributors: Thomas A. Bailey - Author.
Publisher: The Macmillan Company.
Place of publication: New York.
Publication year: 1948.
Page number: 256.

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